The gist
Bilingual coordinator Erika Del Rio told the board the district currently serves 1,677 emergent bilingual students, with the highest concentration at Willis High School at 481 students.
“This year, our bilingual program has made significant progress driven by the dedication and hard work of both our bilingual/ESL teachers and students in particular as they successfully implemented a new curriculum and instructional practices,” Del Rio said at the meeting.
Del Rio said there has been a decline due to students "successfully exiting the program compared to the previous year.”
The program had 88 students exit the program in the 2024-25 school year compared to 25 students the previous year, 2023-24, at the secondary level.
Students can exit the program if they meet the state requirements, such as passing the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness for reading in third through 12th grade and earning an advanced score on the Texas English Language Proficiency Assessment System, Del Rio said.
Digging deeper
The district did see an increase in the number of bilingual students during the 2024-25 school year, to 155, as previously reported by Community Impact. Students are identified through a home language survey, an assessment for language proficiency measures for placement in a specific bilingual or English as a Second Language program with parent approval, Del Rio said.
Willis also offers a one-way dual language program for students to learn and be proficient in English while also maintaining their native language. The dual language programs are at the following schools:
- Cannan Elementary School: 272 students
- Hardy Elementary School: 293 students
- Meador Elementary School: 35 students
- Roark Elementary School: 101 students
Looking ahead
To attract teachers, the district is recruiting at local colleges such as Lone Star College-Tomball due to “a shortage of bilingual teachers all over the state,” Del Rio said.
